Morning Headlines

Coogee Chemicals buys into Buru

Western Australian energy explorer Buru Energy has secured the backing of privately owned Coogee Chemicals, which is buying an 8.9 per cent stake as part of a $40 million raising that will fund crucial drilling and testing of Buru’s potentially vast resources in the Canning Basin. The Fin

WA milk producer to siphon off assets

Western Australia’s largest milk producer, Lactanz Dairies, will again come to market at the end of this month with the $30 million landholding finally expected to sell. The Aus

CBH in grain freight rate warning

CBH has warned grain growers of big rises in freight rates for receival sites on shutdown rail lines as it prepares for the next round of its battle with Brookfield over an access agreement. The West

G20 near growth target

The world’s biggest economies have come within striking distance of an Australian-brokered target to boost global growth by 2 per cent over five years even as the United States labelled Europe a stumbling block. The Fin

Expired accord frees Shell to sell Woodside stake

Energy giant Shell is free to sell its remaining 13.6 per cent stake in Woodside as it sees fit after the expiry last week of the 90-day lock-up agreements related to the June deal, under which it was able to offload a 9.5 per cent stake for $3.2 billion. The Aus

Coking is it: BHP to lift coal output through productivity

BHP Billiton plans to boost coking coal production from current levels through productivity gains while at the same time preparing new expansion options to compete with the company’s oil, potash and copper growth plans. The Aus

G20 puts IR reform on agenda

Workplace reform has been put on Australia’s G20 agenda as the International Monetary Fund urges action on labour-market rules to revitalise global growth at the same time that Tony Abbott prepares to launch a major review into industrial laws. The Aus

The Australian Financial Review

Page 1: The world’s biggest economies have come within striking distance of an Australian-brokered target to boost global growth by 2 per cent over five years even as the United States labelled Europe a stumbling block.

Page 5: The Abbott government appears set to split its contentious social welfare reforms – presenting measures it can get through the Senate this week but putting off indefinitely measures worth billions of dollars.

Page 6: Australia is actively negotiating with China over its plan for an Asian infrastructure bank with President Xi Jinpiing pushing for Australian foundation membership ahead of his visit in November.

Page 8: Business got much of what it wanted out of the G20 policymakers, despite a shortfall in the growth target and gaps in labour markets and implementation.

Page 10: Prime Minister Tony Abbott will make the case for tough new terror laws to prevent atrocities and urge Parliament to support them in a major national security statement on Monday.

Page 12: Jack Ma has become China’s richest person with a fortune approaching $US30 billion ($33.6 billion) and the Alibaba founder is close to securing that title across Asia, after the spectacular debut of his e-commerce company on Friday.

Page 13: Western Australian energy explorer Buru Energy has secured the backing of privately owned Coogee Chemicals, which is buying an 8.9 per cent stake as part of a $40 million raising that will fund crucial drilling and testing of Buru’s potentially vast resources in the Canning Basin.

A Deutsche Bank foreign exchange trader has been sacked and is under investigation by Australian regulators for inflating trades and costing the investment bank up to $5 million in losses, The Australian Financial Review can reveal.

Page 15: Phil Cave, chairman of the specialist turnaround firm Anchorage Capital Partners, intends to keep mining the retail sector for profits after a blockbuster Dick Smith deal quadrupled its initial investment in the electronics company.

Treasury Wine Estates chief executive Mike Clarke has held an exhaustive five-hour meeting in Los Angeles with about 60 high-level bankers and financiers who are central to TPG Capital’s $3.4 billion buyout proposal for the owner of Penfolds and Wolf Blass.

Page 20: A slowdown in Chinese demand coupled with a new Indian government working to reduce red tape is likely to see a more vibrant trading and investment relationship develop between Australia and India, according to the national chairman of the Australia India Business Council Dipen Rughani.

Page 21: Graduate Careers Australia said its survey of more than 52,000 postgraduates, released last week, showed a median, full-time annual salary of $79,000 in 2013 compared to $75,000 a year earlier.

The Australian

Page 1: Workplace reform has been put on Australia’s G20 agenda as the International Monetary Fund urges action on labour-market rules to revitalise global growth at the same time that Tony Abbott prepares to launch a major review into industrial laws.

The ABC is planning to shed about 300 jobs as part of budget cuts under negotiation with the federal government.

Page 2: A global crackdown on tax evasion is set to add billions of dollars to federal revenue in the decade ahead even though Australia will act one year later than others to expose the schemes.

Page 3: Julia Gillard has opened raw wounds in the Labor Party by declaring that she compounded the mistake of appointing Kevin Rudd as foreign minister by replacing him in the role with former NSW premier Bob Carr.

Real estate agents, lawyers and accountants who help foreign investors sidestep Australian law and buy established homes could be dragged into a new compliance regime with fines as high as several hundred thousand dollars.

Page 4: Miners say climate change campaigners are dressing up environmental activism as financial advice before the release of a global report on the future of coal, which predicts thermal coal demand will peak in China by 2016.

Page 6: The US is pushing for a UN statement this week that calls for attacks on Islamic State terrorists “wherever they operate” but Australia is still concentrating on providing military assistance against the “death cult” in Iraq.

Page 17: Two of the nation’s most influential chief executives are urging a new wave of private sector-led investment to plug gaps in vital infrastructure and help deliver a target to add 2 per cent to global growth to the G20 leaders’ summit in November.

BHP Billiton plans to boost coking coal production from current levels through productivity gains while at the same time preparing new expansion options to compete with the company’s oil, potash and copper growth plans.

More than 800 investment funds were frozen out of the Alibaba float as a small group of investors scooped over half the shares in the Chinese e-commerce giant.

Page 18: Iron ore prices have fallen to fresh five-year lows, raising fears that the much-vaunted retracement to higher price levels for Australia’s biggest export earner in the back end of the year will not occur.

Western Australia’s largest milk producer, Lactanz Dairies, will again come to market at the end of this month with the $30 million landholding finally expected to sell.

Over more than two decades of work at the world-renowned Weizmann Institute of Science in Tel Aviv, Jacob Karni and his team have been pioneers of numerous solar energy technology projects.

Page 19: Optus has flicked on the switch on a major speed upgrade of its mobile network, which will double the download speeds of its 4G services.

Energy giant Shell is free to sell its remaining 13.6 per cent stake in Woodside as it sees fit after the expiry last week of the 90-day lock-up agreements related to the June deal, under which it was able to offload a 9.5 per cent stake for $3.2 billion.

At the forefront of Grant Fenn’s mind four years ago, when he became Downer EDI’s chief executive, was how to turn a lossmaking mining contractor into a company that would no longer try the patience of its investors.

Page 22: Joe Hockey has declared the regulatory policy response to the global financial crisis “substantially complete”, following the weekend’s G20 meeting.

The West Australian

Page 3: Researchers say a big study into childcare meals is needed after a Perth pilot study found toddlers and pre-schoolers were not getting enough of important food groups such as meat, dairy and vegetables.

Page 4: The world’s richest nations have set themselves a “Brisbane line” to boost the global economy by $2 trillion and generate millions of jobs, declaring it is time to shake off the shackles of the global financial crisis.

Page 9: The public housing debate has been reignited by revelations 55 of the State-owned properties are valued at more than $1 million.

Page 13: Taxpayers are paying boom-time rents for 11 privately owned apartments in the first of Karratha’s twin high-rise residential towers while 28 Government owned apartments in the second complex sit empty.

Business: Chinese and other international interests are mulling major investments in the WA dairy industry which could see them swoop on farms producing 30 million litres of milk a year.

The flood of Asian money picking off undervalued Australian oil and gas assets is set to continue when Otto Energy declares today it plans to sell its biggest asset for more than $US100 million ($112 million).

CBH has warned grain growers of big rises in freight rates for receival sites on shutdown rail lines as it prepares for the next round of its battle with Brookfield over an access agreement.

The ERA wants the Potato Marketing Corporation abolished through the repeal of legislation controlling the industry.